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9.0
1410
9.0 |
The Observer
Her uncanny ability to write melodies that are simultaneously familiar and challenging, coupled with lyrics that are idiosyncratic yet everyday (from an expose of atheism to an aria on a lost wallet) make this a richly rewarding album
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8.0
1411
8.0 |
Daily Telegraph
Elegantly piano driven, Spektor’s nuanced songs suck you into a narrative then, with subtle twists, blow you into an alternative dimension
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8.0
1412
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Edges have been smoothed, yet idiosyncrasies remain. Far is a bright and gratifying listen; one that doesn’t aim at ideas above its station or flounder in search of unity. It’s simply the sound of Regina Spektor crafting the kind of impeccably sweet, sometimes dramatic and perpetually detailed songs she’s always sung best. Win
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8.0
1404
8.0 |
Spin
After opening with ivory wisps of the sex Pistols' ""God Save the Queen,"" she quickly guns it back to the islands, unfurling a balmy new melody like a beach towel. Just in time for summer
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8.0
1405
8.0 |
Observer Music Monthly
Gone for the commercial jugular
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8.0
1406
8.0 |
Spin
After opening with ivory wisps of the sex Pistols' ""God Save the Queen,"" she quickly guns it back to the islands, unfurling a balmy new melody like a beach towel. Just in time for summer
Read Review
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8.0
1408
8.0 |
musicOMH
Die-hard Spektor fans may be alarmed at the presence of producers such as Lynne and Jacknife Lee (who produced Snow Patrol) but they should not fear. Far is her best album yet, and while it's a long way from early works such as Soviet Kitsch or 11:11, it perfectly illustrates the evolution of a woman who's becoming a truly great artist
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8.0
1414
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Spektor is a woman who doesn't need much excuse to have an emotional Chernobyl (in one song, it's finding a wallet with a Blockbuster card in it). But she's also the rare screwball who gets more universal as she gets weirder
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8.0
1416
8.0 |
Mojo
Print edition only
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8.0
1417
8.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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7.0
1415
7.0 |
PopMatters
No longer bouncing on pizzicato strings, Spektor instead chooses to return to the sedate piano accompaniments of her earlier work, filled out this time with synths, organ, or a growl of electric guitar. There is the occasional unexpected arrangement or vocal trick that we’ve come to expect from Spektor
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6.0
1409
6.0 |
Independent on Sunday
She's at her best telling intimate, piano-based fables on the environment, and at her worst when making direct statements
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6.0
1419
6.0 |
NME
When it breaks into flight, ‘Far’ reaches as high as its title suggests: ‘Human Of The Year’ pairs a typically Spektorian conceit with a lush mid-section on which Spektor’s remarkable, gutsy voice vaults to the rafters of heartbreak
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6.0
1420
6.0 |
No Ripcord
Spektor wants to make you laugh and cry at the same time. This is one of the hardest things a writer can strive to elicit. She did it tactfully on Begin to Hope and Soviet Kitsch. On Far the feeling is obscured and is not strong enough to stretch through the full album
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6.0
1407
6.0 |
The Guardian
She's always interesting; for all the nonsense, Spektor is a writer with something to say
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4.8
1413
4.8 |
Pitchfork
All this talent behind the boards often feels like a waste because of Spektor's inability to let her songs stand on their own merits without the persistent interjection of vocal curlicues or verbal flights of fancy
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4.0
1418
4.0 |
Uncut
Print edition only
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